The invention relates to a standing seam roof system and in particular includes particular clips for attaching the roof panels to the underlying supporting members (purlins), and provides particular edge configurations for the panels for attaching them together along cooperating longitudinal edges thereof.
By utilizing the roof system according to the invention, it is possible to provide roof panels that snap together without the use of expensive seaming machines, or the time-consuming operations associated therewith, yet it is possible to provide for mounting of the roof panels to the underlying supports so that free expansion and contraction of the roof panels is provided. The particular clip means utilized to attach the panels to the underlying supports provide vertical support to the roof panels and hold the panels above the supporting members in order to minimize compression of insulation between the panels and supporting members and thereby effecting maximum utilization of the insulation. Additionally, the edging or locking configurations, etc. are ideally suited for utilizing factory applied weather striping and sealant to effect more accurate placement of the sealant and quicker installation of the panels. Despite such operational advantages, the components of the roof system are easy to fabricate and install, and provide for a great deal of flexibility in the use of particular components thereof.
According to one aspect of the present invention clip means are provided for supporting adjacent roofing panels at longitudinal interconnected edges thereof, the clip means having the aboveindicated advantaged provided according to the invention. The clip means include a base member with an attachment portion disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of a purlin for attachment thereto, a central upstanding portion extending perpendicularly to the attachment portion and having a longitudinally elongated opening formed therein, and panel supporting portions extending in a plane perpendicular to the central upstanding portion at the top thereof, on both sides thereof. A tab member is operatively slideable in the longitudinally elongated opening for relative movement with respect to the base member and extends upwardly therefrom to interengage the panels attached together at the clip means. The configuration of the tab member can be varied depending upon the particular edge configuration of the panels, the base member being utilizable with a wide variety of such tab members. The tab member has one portion parallel to the base member disposed on one face thereof, a perpendicular portion extending through the longitudinal opening, and a main body portion extending upwardly from the base member on the opposite face as the first mentioned portion thereof.
For some uses, the clips means base member may include a pair of bottom portions parallel to the purlin with which they are associated, a pair of metal portions slanting upwardly from the bottom portions, and a top portion parallel to the purlin and interconnecting the middle portions, the longitudinally elongated opening cooperating with the tab member formed in the top portion. While providing a more complicated construction than the above-mentioned clip means, the clip means of this embodiment are also capable of positively vertically supporting the panels at the interconnecting edges thereof.
The clip means are utilized with a plurality of panels to provide a standing seam roof construction, each of the panels having parallel first and second raised edges extending generally longitudinally thereof with the tab member of the clip means dimensioned to fit between the raised edges, and the raised edges interconnected by particular fastening means. Such fastening means may include a snap cap arrangement, such as shown in copending commonly assigned application Ser. No. 057,006, filed 7/12/79 by Hooper, Ellison, and Spranca entitled "Capping Arrangements", or may comprise a wide variety of conventional edge interlocking arrangements. Preferred edge interlocking arrangements according to the present invention, however, include male and female particularly shaped interlocking components. For instance the male component may be formed with a corrugated edge, and the female component may include an upturned corrugated edge for cooperating with the male member corrugated edge, or may include a flat portion for engaging the edge. Alternatively, the male member may be formed with an outwardly extending bulge with the female member having a flat portion disposed underneath the bulge. At the spaced portions at which the clip means are provided, the tab member may include a turned-back portion overlapping the male interlocking component. Still further, the male locking component can have a flat edge, and fasteners can be provided connecting the male and female components together at overlapping portions thereof. Sealing is preferably provided between the male and female components in all the configurations.
In situations where the roof panels are not long enough to effectively cover a roof area, the edges of panels can be overlapped with the standing seams of the overlapped panels being coextensive. The ends of the edge configurations of the underlying panels are formed flat in such an arrangement, the flat portions being disposed between the male and female locking members of the overlying panels.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a versatile, efficient standing seam roof construction and particular advantageous components thereof. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.